Speed up or slow down iPad or iPhone video playback with SpeedUpTV (great for language and music learners)

We'll return to our series on examining the successes and challenges of iPad rollouts in education this coming weekend, in the meanwhile … as an amateur musician, I know how helpful it can be to slow song parts down to comprehend them, and to hear solos better, while studying them. SpeedUpTV allows you to slow down or speed up video playback, which is a huge help for language learners as well. It can also be just plain fun!

SpeedUpTV is an iPhone & iPad video app developed by MIX1009 and includes some useful features that could be very beneficial for foreign language students and music students. The app has been very popular in Korea and Japan because it allows users to easily adjust the speed of their videos without losing any performance in tone or video quality.

Those who are studying English or a foreign language understand that listening comprehension (aside from speaking) is one of the most difficult areas to conquer. Many teachers suggest that students should watch a foreign TV show or movie that interests them so that it encourages or better yet motivates them when trying to understand the dialogue. However, a common problem is the speed or tone of the foreign language and that is a huge stumbling block for most students.

Many times you will hear slang, idioms, unfamiliar intonation and more which can really discourage or hinder you from wanting to finish the video to the end. With SpeedUpTV students can easily adjust the speed of their video from .5x to 2.5x. This can be an invaluable feature for those students who are trying to improve their proficiency in second or third language.

In addition, support for A-B repeat (students can choose to loop certain scenes) as well as dual subtitles can make this a great way to tackle and improve listening comprehension.

These playback slowdown techniques can also be very useful to music students struggling to comprehend complex or even simple pieces of music. SpeedUpTV can even preserves audio pitch (tone) while changing playback speed (now that' a cool and unique feature for musicians!).

SpeedUpTV is inexpensive (US $2.99), making it a great choice for students (and everyone else), and it’s a fantastic way to make learning fun and efficient.

Kelly Walsh is Chief Information Officer at The College of Westchester, in White Plains, NY, where he also teaches. In 2009, Walsh founded EmergingEdTech.com. He frequently delivers presentations and training on a variety of education and technology topics at schools and conferences across the U.S. Walsh became the Community Administrator for the Flipped Learning Network in June of 2016. He also writes the "Technology Perspectives" Column for University Business magazine. In his "spare time" he writes, records, and performs original music ... stop by kwalshmusic.com and have a listen!
[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own, or those of other writers, and not those of my employer. - K. Walsh]